All mining companies must have their primary listing in Harare on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and secondary listing elsewhere, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said.
Mutambara said the country should be clever during the indigenisation exercise as shareholding alone was not enough.
“We don’t want companies that list elsewhere and make us secondary. Bank with CBZ Zimbabwe,” said Mutambara.
“We are not interested in people banking offshore. All banks are saying interest rates are high, where is our money? Barclays Bank and Stanchart should invest the money they have here in Zimbabwe.”
He said the country must share its resources fairly so that everyone, including women, would benefit.
Mutambara said foreign companies should have a positive attitude towards indigenisation and think of it as a business case.
“We are no longer interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR), it’s old. We want to be in the shareholding. CSR is not the way to go. We need created shared value. To what extent are we creating value for the country and the environment?” he said.
Economic Planning and Investment Promotion permanent secretary Desire Sibanda said the mining sector received $502 million this year in approved lines of credit.
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Sibanda said the mining sector is expected to grow by 25,8% in 2011 on the back of firming commodity prices and stable economic environment.
“In 2012, mining is expected to be the major driving force behind overall economic performance mainly due to additional capital injections, firming of the international commodity prices and anticipated initiatives to minimise electricity supply interruptions,” Sibanda said.
The sector is expected to register a 15,9% growth in 2012 although it is still facing challenges that include high production costs and capacity gaps created by brain drain.
Meanwhile players in the mining sector have been challenged to ramp up production and increase capacity utilisation levels that have remained at an average of 44% in the gold sector despite firming international prices.
Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe president Winston Chitando said the mining sector continues to be haunted by antiquated machinery and lack of modern technology.
He was speaking at a mining stakeholders’ meeting held recently to review the implications of the 2012 National Budget.
He said the platinum sector was operating at full capacity while other sub-sectors such as iron ore, asbestos and nickel were still operating at low capacity utilisation levels.
“It’s sad that when the price of gold is so high we are operating at 44%,”he said.
An ounce of gold is selling for an average of $1 752.
Chitando said the country had forty minerals with known deposits.
“What is important is to work on a number of challenges in the sector so that its contribution can be realised. The country’s mineral potential will be achieved through new exploration projects, current producers operating at full capacity and also expanding current capacity,” Chitando said.
